This invention relates to game racquets such as tennis racquets, racquetball racquets, and squash racquets. More particularly, the invention relates to a game racquet frame having elongated string slots in the inner wall of the head.
Game racquets conventionally include a hoop-shaped head which supports a planar string bed. The head provides outside and inside hoops which are defined by the outer and inner walls of the head. The head is drilled with string holes through which the strings are threaded. One or more grommet strips and/or a bumper strip may be mounted on the outside of the head, and the grommet strip and/or bumper strip include tubular sleeves which extend through the string holes and which protect the strings from being abraded by the frame material which defines the edges of the string holes.
Most of the load of the strings is carried by the outside hoop, and the inside hoop is used to locate the string to give it the proper position in the string pattern. This rigid securing of the strings limits the deflection of the string bed, particularly on off-center hits. The rigid holes in the inside hoop also limit the size of the sweetspot of the racquet by not allowing the maximum deflection of the string bed. Impacts of a tennis ball near the top and sides of the frame tend to feel harsh.
Some attempts have been made to modify the traditional rigid locations of the strings at the inside hoop. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,332,213, 5,251,895, Re. 34,420, 5,014,987, and 4,930,778, German O.G. 35 06 025 A1, and French Patent No. 2 598 323. However, those attempts have still limited to some extent the size of the sweetspot of the racquet by not allowing maximum deflection of the string bed in a direction which is perpendicular to the plane of the strings.